Rhythm, Feet and Meter in Poetry

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Transcript of Rhythm, Feet and Meter in Poetry

Rhythm, Feet and Meter in PoetryRhythm and MeterFootA foot is a combination of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry. There are many different combinations, but some are more popular than others. Here are the most common feet, the rhythms they represent, and an example of that rhythm. The words which are CAPITALISED and in bold are the stressed syllable.

Iamb: duh-DUH, as in collapse

Trochee: DUH-duh, as in pizza

Anapest: duh-duh-DUH, as in but of course!

Dactyl: DUH-duh-duh, as in honestly

Spondee: DUH-DUH, as in

Crash! Bang!MeterThis is the number of feet that is in a line of poetry. A line of poetry can have any number of feet, and can have more than one type of foot. There are some meters that are used more often than others.We have learned..Rhythm - made up of syllables and therefore feet.Foot - contains at least two syllables (any combination of stressed or unstressed, usually up to three syllables).Meter - the number of feet in a line of poetry.Remember: A foot is a combination of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry (unless it is a spondee, which is two stressed syllables). There are many different combinations, but some are more popular than others. We mark an unstressed (or light) syllable with an x and a stressed syllable (or heavy) is marked with a / symbol.

Iamb: A foot with two syllables, one that is not stressed and one that is, in that order. Trochee: A foot with two syllables, this time with one that is stressed and one that is not. Spondee: A foot with two syllables, both of which are stressed. Anapest: A foot with three syllables, two stressed syllables followed by one unstressed syllable Dactyl: A foot with three syllables, one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables

POETRY’S RHYTHMRhythm gives a poem its sound, and there are many different ways that rhythm is used, and lots of elements in poetry that are related to rhythm.

Stress / AccentA line of poetry is filled with syllables. When a syllable is given emphasis, it is called a stressed syllable. Stress is the emphasis given to the syllable.

Example: “water” has two syllables: wa – ter

The first syllable (“wa”) is the stressed syllable – it is pronounced with more emphasis than the second syllable (“ter”), which is the unstressed syllable.Monometer: a line with 1 foot Dimeter: A line with 2 feet Trimeter: A line with 3 feet Tetrameter: A line with 4 feet Pentameter: A line with 5 feet Hexameter: A line with 6 feet Heptameter: A line with 7 feetOctameter: a line with 8 feetTypes of FeetMetermore examplesNote that although the word 'temperate' has three syllables, when we count the meter we are looking for patterns in syllables (for example unstressed (x) stressed (/), which is an iamb). This therefore means this poem is written in iambic pentameter.